Novak Djokovic Rages at Umpire in a Bizarre Complaint during Biggest Loss in 16 Years to Luca Nardi
- 2 months ago
Novak Djokovic has been caught in an on-court meltdown at Indian Wells before suffering his biggest defeat in 16 years to Luca Nardi.
Ranked 123 in the world by the ATP, Nardi is the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level, the Italian coming out 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victor.
Djokovic was naturally the overwhelming favorite for the tie as a five-time champion of the event and record 24-time Grand Slam winner, against the 20-year-old who only made the competition as a lucky loser.
After a poor start by his herculean standards, the Serbian great fought back in the second to level the scoreboards, before an entertaining third set that saw both players excel went the way of the underdog, sealing victory with an ace.
However, one moment in particular from the second set caught the attention, with Djokovic left outraged with the umpire after not receiving a call in his favor - and he proceeded to make his opinion clear to the official in the chair.
At 2-0 up in the second set, Djokovic served down the line to Nardi who looked to play a drop shot back and catch out his opponent.
The shot - intended to land as close to the net as possible on the other side of the court - was executed well, so well that Nardi thought he had underhit it and appeared to stop running.
Djokovic then returned the shot to the tramline, but stood rooted to the spot as Nardi returned across the court, the Serbian stood in the center of the court looking bewildered with his hands out to his side, clearly shocked that Nardi had offered a shot in retort.
'He hit the ball and then stopped!' he said to the umpire, sparking a furious debate over whether Djokovic should have been awarded the point on the grounds of a hindrance.
A hindrance in tennis is any deliberate attempt from one player to another to prevent them from making a shot.
'He reacted to the call, he didn't make the call he didn't stop the point,' argued the umpire. 'Just because he stops, doesn't mean the point stops.
'Just because he stops doesn't mean the point stops? What are you talking about?' a furious Djokovic retorted.
'You saw the reaction, he stopped. He stopped and that's it. He confused me completely and I stopped as well. How can you not make that judgment? Are you kidding me?'
The umpire then patiently asked whether Djokovic was looking for a hindrance to be called in his favor, to which the 36-year-old replied: 'Of course!'
The two continued to go back and forth on the court, with the umpire maintaining that there were no grounds for a hindrance to be awarded, with agitated boos emerging from the crowd.
Ultimately the call went the way of Nardi, and the game soon got back underway. It wouldn't prove too much of a hurdle as Djokovic looked to have recovered from the opening set blip to fight back and take the second set 6-3, but could not find a way past the youngster in the third.
Ranked 123 in the world by the ATP, Nardi is the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level, the Italian coming out 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victor.
Djokovic was naturally the overwhelming favorite for the tie as a five-time champion of the event and record 24-time Grand Slam winner, against the 20-year-old who only made the competition as a lucky loser.
After a poor start by his herculean standards, the Serbian great fought back in the second to level the scoreboards, before an entertaining third set that saw both players excel went the way of the underdog, sealing victory with an ace.
However, one moment in particular from the second set caught the attention, with Djokovic left outraged with the umpire after not receiving a call in his favor - and he proceeded to make his opinion clear to the official in the chair.
At 2-0 up in the second set, Djokovic served down the line to Nardi who looked to play a drop shot back and catch out his opponent.
The shot - intended to land as close to the net as possible on the other side of the court - was executed well, so well that Nardi thought he had underhit it and appeared to stop running.
Djokovic then returned the shot to the tramline, but stood rooted to the spot as Nardi returned across the court, the Serbian stood in the center of the court looking bewildered with his hands out to his side, clearly shocked that Nardi had offered a shot in retort.
'He hit the ball and then stopped!' he said to the umpire, sparking a furious debate over whether Djokovic should have been awarded the point on the grounds of a hindrance.
A hindrance in tennis is any deliberate attempt from one player to another to prevent them from making a shot.
'He reacted to the call, he didn't make the call he didn't stop the point,' argued the umpire. 'Just because he stops, doesn't mean the point stops.
'Just because he stops doesn't mean the point stops? What are you talking about?' a furious Djokovic retorted.
'You saw the reaction, he stopped. He stopped and that's it. He confused me completely and I stopped as well. How can you not make that judgment? Are you kidding me?'
The umpire then patiently asked whether Djokovic was looking for a hindrance to be called in his favor, to which the 36-year-old replied: 'Of course!'
The two continued to go back and forth on the court, with the umpire maintaining that there were no grounds for a hindrance to be awarded, with agitated boos emerging from the crowd.
Ultimately the call went the way of Nardi, and the game soon got back underway. It wouldn't prove too much of a hurdle as Djokovic looked to have recovered from the opening set blip to fight back and take the second set 6-3, but could not find a way past the youngster in the third.